‘Really, really harsh’ – Birmingham boss left fuming at penalty decision in Town draw

Birmingham City boss Chris Davies was left fuming with two ‘harsh’ decisions which he felt cost his side victory against Ipswich Town on Friday.

The newly-promoted home side dominated most of the game against Town, but had to settle for a point after George Hirst coolly slotted home a penalty in added time.

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That was awarded after a cross into the box deflected off the hand of Lyndon Dykes as he jumped to try to clear the danger.

READ MORE: Five observations following 1-1 draw at Birmingham City

And Davies said: “I thought it was really, really harsh. He’s gone up and obviously his arms are raised – you have to raise your arms to jump – and it’s scraped his fingers on the way down.

“It’s really harsh. I would be surprised if anyone doesn’t have that opinion. That’s happened now, we just have to take it.

“It’s made a huge impact on the game because we were one-nil up with a couple of minutes to go. That’s football, it can happen.”

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George Hirst kept his cool to level from the spot late on (Image: PA Sport) Davies added: “We were the better team, we dominated the match, and we deserved to win the game but for misfortune with a decision.”

The Birmingham boss also lamented a decision earlier in the game which saw Kyogo Furuhashi adjudged to have fouled towering Town defender Jacob Greaves before he lobbed the ball into the net just seven minutes in.

READ MORE: ‘I’ll always back myself’ – Hirst on dramatic penalty in Town’s draw at Birmingham

“Again, I thought it was harsh,” Davies admitted. “You only have to look at Kyogo to see the size of him compared to the centre-back. For me, that one looked harsh.

“The good news is that is what Kyogo is capable of. He was trying to make the right runs and was disciplined in his performance. I’m really happy with him.”